By- Baljeet Yadav
TISS M.phil Scholar
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has started “Swachh Bharat Campaign” across India. We welcome the campaign. People who have taken brooms for 15 minutes for first time into their life just for the namesake got full coverage on newspapers, TV and other media platforms. But people who are actually cleaning our country from centuries hardly got any coverage in the mainstream media.
Some months ago Narendra Modi announced about the amendments in the labour laws after which lesser workers will be covered by labour laws. Meaning people who were out casted from the villages by Manu- Samiriti will be thrown out of the ambit of the labour legislations by our government.
According to BJP’s rules, workers working under contractors who is employing less than 50 workers should not be covered by Contract Labour Act. Meaning these workers can not demand permanency and other social security benefits by fighting in the courts, once these amendments are passed.
In Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC), contractors and corrupt officers have eaten Rs 5,00,00,000 of encashment of paid leaves of contract dalit safai workers. Kolhapur Municipal Corporation is not giving Rs 3 Crores, 6 Lakhs of arrears to contract safai workers.Solhapur, Jalgaav, Pune, Amravati, Nanded, Nagpur, by all these Municipal Corporations workers are paid less than minimum wages. Safai workers of these Municipal Corporations are not getting even single social benefit.
In Narendra Modi’s Constituency Varanasi and all over UP, Safai workers are working as “Samvidha Workers” and are getting less than minimum wages.
Today across India workers are getting less than minimum wages. They are not receiving payment slips, attendance slips, safety equipments, Provident Fund, ESI, etc. In UP Samvidha workers are given Rs 120 less than minimum wages daily. In Kolhapur workers formed union and approached court to get back their arrears of minimum wages. And court ordered Kolhapur Municipal Corporation to give arrears of Rs 3 crore and 6 lakhs to contract safai workers but till now workers have not received the money even after 5 months of court judgment.
In India, not even single Municipal Corporation is following laws. They can not employ contract workers but all of them are employing contract workers illegally and thus taking lives of thousands of dalit safai workers. But today workers can go to courts of get their rights back but this will be not be possible after the amendments by Modi’s government. Meaning workers (citizens) who are in dire need of protection from laws are being kept out of the ambit of laws by BJP government.
In TMC on Reti Bandar, Mumbra road, one dalit women safai worker died while cleaning the road. And other worker Ranjeet Dwarkanath Patil is admitted into hospital. But they couldn’t found any place into media space. It’s the most unfortunate period of Independent Indian history.
Regarding above matters and to protest against the amendments in labour laws safai workers from six Municipal Corporations of Maharashtra marched a morcha from Rani Baug, Byculla on 26th November, 2014 and gave their memorandum to Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
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